JICA has not halted Gulu hospital project

What you need to know:

  • On completion, this project will contribute to the achievement of the goals set in the National Development Plan II (NDP II) and Health Sector Development Plan (HSDP). 

In response to a story  “Contractor abandons Shs10 billion project at Gulu hospital in the Daily Monitor of August 31, JICA Uganda office would like to make a clarification as there was no inquiry from the office for facts.

Clearly, the reporter did not seek information from any of the contractors, consultants or any officials from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Uganda office. We would like to make it clear that the rehabilitation of Gulu Regional Referral Hospital under “The Project for the Improvement of Regional Referral Hospitals (RRHs) in Northern Uganda in the Republic of Uganda”  was not abandoned, but halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic that forced all Japanese nationals, including contractors, to leave the country.

However, during this temporary suspension, consultants are having discussions with the Ministry of Health on financial arrangements, timing and conditions in order to resume construction. Therefore, we expect that when they agree with the conditions, the contractors will return to Uganda and continue with their work to completion.

The objective of this project is to strengthen the functions of the selected RRHs in the northern region of Uganda in districts of Gulu, Lira and Arua, through construction of facilities and procurement of equipment, thereby contributing to improving access to and quality of healthcare services in northern Uganda.

The Gulu RRH in particular is to have an operation theatre, causalty and maternity ward of 81-bed capacity, and will comprise three operating rooms, two NICUs,  five delivery rooms, a recovery room, an operation theatre, a resuscitation room, minor operation room, and an ICU, among others.

The project intends to cover a population as large as 6.84 million (2.39 million for Gulu RRH, 2.31 million for Lira RRH and 2.14 million for Arua RRH) based on the population estimate of 2016. 

Besides the beneficiary population, it is also expected to benefit the internally displaced persons and refugees from the Republic of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

On completion, this project will contribute to the achievement of the goals set in the National Development Plan II (NDP II) and Health Sector Development Plan (HSDP). 

Also notably, it is in line with the Japanese Country Assistance Policy for the Republic of Uganda, and fits the humanitarian needs of the rehabilitation of northern Uganda and the support of refugees from its neighbouring countries.

JICA Uganda office through this project aims at securing the satisfactory health of residents of northern Uganda and solving the existing disparity between regions through amelioration of accessibility and quality of medical services in northern Uganda. 

This, accordingly, will contribute to achievement of the goals set in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which is a trend in the global health, and in Uganda.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).